GROZNY, July 4. /TASS/. The assault on reporter Yelena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov as they were traveling in the southern Russian region of Chechnya on Tuesday has all the signs of an operation by Western secret services seeking to tarnish Russia, said Akhmed Dudayev, Chechnya’s minister for ethnic policy, external communications and mass media.

"Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is the motive of blowing out of proportion the trial of citizen [Zarema] Musayeva, which Milashina and Nemov are said to have been going to. However, in view of the global processes that are taking place in the context of the special military operation, it cannot be ruled out that the authors of the attack scenario pursued the goal of discrediting our country once again before the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius. The distinctive modus operandi of Western special services is clearly traceable here," he said on Telegram.

He said the incident was intolerable and extraordinary for Chechnya.

"No one here is allowed to disturb the peace and safety of citizens and guests, even if they are agents of the West. This case is extraordinary for the republic, and law enforcement officials have yet to find out the real reasons for the provocation and identify its instigators. It would make sense to ask this: if neither the Chechens, nor the republic, nor the authorities stand to benefit from this, then who does?" he said.

Milashina and Nemov were assaulted by unidentified assailants. The victims have now been taken to a hospital in another southern Russian region, North Ossetia. Russian human rights commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has reached out to the Chechen Investigative Committee, Interior Ministry and prosecutor’s office in connection with the incident. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the incident as "a very serious attack requiring very vigorous action" and said that the president had been briefed about the assault. Chechnya head Ramzan Kadyrov instructed law enforcement agencies to identify the attackers.